Boulder, Nov 12, 2001 - In their search for water and possible life on Mars, scientists are turning to new data generated by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) topography from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft.
Tucson - Nov 9, 2001 - NASA this afternoon announced that it has selected a University of Arizona- led team's proposed very high resolution camera called HiRISE for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a powerful scientific orbiter planned for launch in August 2005.
Laurel - Nov 9, 2001 - NASA announced today that The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., will provide a key science instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the spacecraft NASA plans to send to the Red Planet in 2005.
Boulder - Nov 8, 2001 - Soon after Mars was formed, it was bombarded by numerous large meteorites and asteroids. Scientists have discovered an unexpectedly large grouping of impact basins buried under Mars' northern plains that resulted from this pounding. They used Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) topographic data to find them, because they can't be seen in images of the Martian surface.
Pasadena - Nov 2, 2001 - Tiny bulldozer rovers may some day dish up the dirt and pack it in on Mars. The scoop-and-dump design of a prototype bulldozer rover being developed by NASA engineers mimics that of a bulldozer and dump truck.
Kuner - Nov 1, 2001 - Pioneer Astronautics has conducted a successful dynamic test of its Mars solar balloon inflation system. The experiment, performed at an altitude of 116,000 ft over Kuner Colorado on September 26, was part of an SBIR phase 2 program supported by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
Pasadena - Nov 1, 2001 - NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey gave mission managers a real treat this Halloween with its first look at the Red Planet. It's a thermal infrared image of the Martian southern hemisphere that captures the polar carbon dioxide ice cap at a temperature of about minus 120 C (minus 184 F).
Tucson - Oct 24, 2001 - Like an answer to a prayer, NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft slipped into orbit around the red planet last night.
Melbourne - Oct 23, 2001 - The main evidence for liquid water on Mars is the past development of giant flood channels that have been seen for the last 25 years as proof of the escape of water from the subsurface. All the models for modern and ancient Mars are based on the premise that there was once liquid water available, and perhaps even an ocean.
Washington (AFP) Oct 23, 2001 - The Mars Odyssey 2001 space probe succeeded late Tuesday in entering the orbit of Mars to study the geology and chemical composition of the Red Planet, US space officials announced.
Pasadena - Oct 23, 2001 - For the third time in two years NASA appears to have lost a spacecraft about Mars. The Mars Odyssey 2001 space probe was to have fired its main engine for 20 minutes at 7.26pm Pacific Time, with confirmation of a successful orbital insertion expected shortly after 7.56pm Pacific Time evening when Odyssey's time delayed signal was to have been reacquired by NASA's Deep Space Network at Goldstone.
Pasadena - Oct 21, 2001 - NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is carrying a suite of scientific instruments designed to tell us what makes up the Martian surface, and provide vital information about potential radiation hazards for future human explorers.
Pasadena - Oct 21, 2001 - Aerobraking is a spaceflight technique wherein an orbiting spacecraft brushes against the top of a planetary atmosphere. The friction of the atmosphere against the surface of the spacecraft slows down and lowers the craft's orbital altitude. The solar panels is are used to provide the maximum drag in a symmetrical position that allows some control as the spacecraft passes through the atmosphere.
Pasadena - Oct 19, 2001 - After 200 days of travel and more than 460 million kilometers (about 285 million miles) logged on its odometer, NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft will fire its main engine for the first and only time Oct. 23 and put itself into orbit around the red planet.
Adelaide - Oct 18, 2001 - Mars Society Australia announced today that the media and general public will be able to meet members of their Project Jarntimarra expedition, before they depart later this month to scout for Mars-like locations in the Australian outback. A highlight will be the rare opportunity to meet high-profile NASA space scientists Dr Carol Stoker and Dr Larry Lemke, both of whom work on Mars-related projects aimed at getting humans to the Red Planet.
Tucson - Oct 16, 2001 - University of Arizona space scientists are inviting the public to join them on campus at a special open house at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. next Tuesday, Oct. 23, as the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft arrives at Mars.
